Nine-time Dutch champion Karen Venhuizen is ambassador for the World Junior Figure Skating Championships

“This event lets us look into the future”

Karen Venhuizen is currently busy promoting the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in The Hague: she is the ambassador for the tournament and is looking forward to it immensely. We asked the former Dutch figure skating champion a few questions.

You once took part in the World Junior Figure Skating Championships yourself. What was it like?

“My one and only World Junior Figure Skating Championships was in 2000, after I had already become Dutch senior-level champion, and after having taken part in my first senior-level European Championships. So it was not the first time I had taken part in a tournament, but it was my first time at the Junior Championships, and it went really well!”

Do Manouk and Boyito have a chance of winning?

“They could reach the final, but I suspect they don’t yet have what it takes to reach the podium.”

What is it like to be the ambassador for this tournament?

“The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is a major global tournament and an outstanding opportunity to give an impulse to figure skating in the Netherlands. That is something I am very pleased to help achieve.”

Do you know the skaters who are taking part in this event?

“I have not followed the junior circuit very closely in the last few years. I know the two Russian male participants: Artur Gachinsky and Artur Dimitriev. They both train with Alexei Mishin, Plushenko’s coach. Every summer since I was twelve I have trained with Mishin, and I have seen how Artur Gachinsky has grown up from being a boy of eight to the skater that he is today.”

Who are the favourites?

“Assuming they reach the final, the favourites in the men’s junior Grand Prix are Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, Nan Song of China, and the American, Grant Hochstein. For the women: Kanako Murakami of Japan, Polina Shelepen of Russia and Christina Gao from America. The Russian women’s champion, Ksenia Makarova, also took part in this year’s senior European Championships. The favourites for the ice dancing title appear to be two Russian pairs, Ksenia Monko / Kirill Khaliavin and Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov, together with the Americans, Maia and Alex Shibutani. As expected, the contestants from China, Wenjing Sui / Cong Han and Yue Zhang / Lei Wang are the frontrunners in the pair skating. The Japanese pair, Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran, also took their place on the medal stand at the junior Grand Prix final.”

Why is this event a must for figure-skating fans? 

“The World Junior Figure Skating Championships lets us look into the future. After all, many of the competitors at this tournament often go on to become top performers at senior level, so it is quite possible that we will be witnessing future Olympic champions in action. For example, Evan Lysacek won gold at the 2004 Junior Championships, which were also held in The Hague, but it was only this year that he took the gold in the best arena of all: the Olympic Games.”